Mccarron International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Las Vegas, Nevada 89115
Thursday, July 12, 2001 15:35 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During taxi the airplane collided with a pole. The fixed based operator (FBO) stated that the aircraft was behind the "follow me" golf cart and passed through an opening between a parked aircraft and a metal pole. The total distance betwen the parked aircraft and the pole was measured at 78 feet, and the wing span on the accident aircraft was measured at 35 feet. The pilot stated while taxiing behind the "follow me" golf cart he was distracted by ground control who was trying to provide him with a telephone number to contact tower after securing his aircraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadaquate visual lookout and failure to maintain proper clearance from an object. A factor was the pilot's distraction by a conversation with ground control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/12/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1535
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Las Vegas
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89115
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 360451N
Event Location Longitude 1150907W
Event Location Airport McCarron International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LAS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2181
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1456 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KLAS
Elevation of weather observation facility 2181
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 39
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13085
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 12 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1600
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 1 2003 7:34AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO-LAS

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4326H
NTSB Number LAX01LA246
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20J
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 24-0707
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3950
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Thomas Francis Fessler
Aircraft Owner Street Address On File
Aircraft Owner City Laguna Beach
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92651
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code FUL
Departure City Fullerton
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1535
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LAS
Destination City Las Vegas
Destination State NV
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi - from landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 25 2004 3:49PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --